The Monkey Mania
by Marrillian
Summary: Follow a happy-go-lucky OverWorld monkey, named Mania, who's adventures through Perim can be both serious and comical. You can also check it out at chaoticbackup (dt) forumotion (dt) c o m \t1452-the-monkey-mania
1. Chapter 1: The Monkey – Mania

A few years back in the world of Perim in a lush jungle, a young monkey, Mania, lived with his mother, Primarté. Among those who had encountered this oasis, few knew that there were OverWorlders in it. For years, the Mipedians had envied this land, but they were terrified of what dangerous creature might live inside because of the strange noises that reverberated throughout the trees. The horrendous sounds that spewed out of it, due to the insects inhabiting, could send shivers down even the spines of Warbeasts. But most fearsome of all was the young monkey's crazy contraptions. He had set up traps to catch some of the interesting animals, and others to scare dangerous ones away.

Once a daring Mipedian had tried to explore, but was smashed in the face by a spicy pie. Upon collision, the pie burned a layer of scales, earning him the nickname "sunburned," which is a great insult to a Mipedian. Ever since his mother made him a banana-Dractyl scale pie, Mania loved pie. He was always experimenting; trying to make the best pies – ones that looked delicious, smelled delicious, and tasted delicious; and those that exploded when thrown and were aerodynamic. The pies consisted of all different types of flavors, made using anything that could be found in the jungle.

However, precipitation in the jungle had gradually lessened and plants were dying. Seeing that the trees could not offer protection to its dwellers, the Mipedians organized an investigation party. One of the older Mipedians, Tuckear, knew that Primarté lived there and was tagging along to protect her just in case things got out of hand. Primarté, knowing their days of protection were over, planned to leave that evening. At dusk, before Mania had finished packing, one of the rash and reckless Mipedians (who would later conjure Gintanai the Forgotten) went into the jungle and him. "OverWorld scum," he exclaimed. "Trying to invade our territory, eh?" While muttering some unprintable lizard dialect, he sprinted back to his camp screaming and creating a large ruckus. This grabbed the attention of not only the other Mipedians, but also a certain monkey.

The Mipedian squad came rushing in with Mudeenu "leading" from the back. Mania threw a pie at one of them. Petrified, they began attacking everything in every direction. Now in confusion, they activated Mania's various traps: some tripped, others fell into pits, and a few more got hit by pies. Mudeenu, the first one retreating, got caught in Mania's newest trap: this pulled him off the ground; the supporting branch snapped, sending him into a pit of mud. After they escaped and regrouped, they began grumbling. One of the Mipedians noticed that Tuckear looked pretty content. "Why didn't you come in with us old lomp? Did you know this would happen?" he spat. "Nope, but I knew something good was going to happen." The old timer could only spew that out quickly before laughing hysterically. The Mipedians began planning how to conquer their strange opponent.

With the Mipedians temporarily distracted, Mania quickly shoved the rest of his equipment into his sack. Then he set off with his mother, after eating a banana-peach pie. The entire journey he pestered her about their destination, but she would only smile. Suddenly, in the middle of a parched dessert wasteland, the lushest jungle Mania had ever seen surrounded them.

"Welcome to Iparu Jungle," his mother whispered.

"Whoa! So this is where the great pie-maker lives... The creature who taught Yokkis everything about pies," Mania also whispered; then, confused, stated: "Wait, why are we whispering?"

"During the last wind, I caught some sand in mouth which died out my throat."

"Oh well have some water." He pointed toward a pristine pool.

After drinking, Primarté continued, "Iparu will teach you to make the best banana-Dractyl scale pie ever. He is the one who educated me more thoroughly in the art of pie making."

"Wow, wow, wow, wow, wow–"

"First, we need to find him." She paused. "Actually, before we continue, we should have a snack."

After eating some cold pie, they headed east into the jungle, passing many beautiful plants and curious insects. Ten minutes in, Mania spotted a plant this was rocking back and forth. "What is this doing?"

"Better be careful around those, Mania." But her warning was too late; the plant coiled back and spit a green vapor into Mania's face. "Oh no, getting in trouble already." Mania collapsed. Primarté masked her face with a handkerchief and retrieved her son. "Well, it will take a little while for this to wear off. Sleeping Pontoos are a bit territorially defensive." She sighed and caressed Mania's head.

Mania awoke startled, his nose twitching, to the smell of mango-paradise-bliss pie. He jumped up. "Lunch, lunch, lunch, lunch!"

"Mania, we just ate recently."

"Oh you aren't cooking lunch?" Mania pondered.

Primarté thought to herself, "Hmmm, with how long he's been out, maybe it is time for lunch."

Mania broke her concentration. "Well let's find out who is!" He tugged on her tail.

"Not so fast, I'll lead the way." She headed toward the source of the scent.

After walking north-east for a little bit they came to a gulch. "Whoa, look at this bridge. That's some rapid current beneath. This must mean we're getting close to civilization." Mania was showing off his vocabulary.

"I wouldn't call a hermit civilization. But this stone bridge is impressive."

Mania rushed to cross the bridge, but something didn't feel right – it wasn't solid? Three steps in, he fell. Splash! Mania quickly floated downstream.

"Should have known it was an illusion," Primarté sighed. She dashed alongside the river, looking for a suitable place to jump in to rescue her son. Glancing downstream, she saw that he would be fine, because the rushing river flowed into a calm lake.

"Mom, join me. The water's fine." Mania was swimming backstroke. Suddenly, a stream of water propelled him high into the air and misted the lake. Falling, he yelled, "Fancy, a steam bath." After swimming back to shore he commented with a grin, "A little too much steam."

Since the lake would take some time to go around, they headed back upstream to look for a narrow place to cross. Then Primarté made a makeshift bridge using "Vine Snare". After traveling on for a bit, they reached a 15 meter tall rock face. "I guess he hasn't changed his address," Primarté chuckled. A hut releasing smoke sat on top. Primarté headed to a giant mushroom. "Up we go." They jumped on from a smaller one. It folded up it sides, and compressed its stalk. Then, like a spring, launched them up onto the top of the cliff. "Pie, pie, pie, pie!" Mania shouted while rushing to a hut, a dust storm formed in his wake. He stopped; terrified, yet amazed; a bit curious, then skeptical. In the doorway a copy of himself stood.

Mania moved his head; the other twitched his tail in response. He knew about mirrors, but this was no reflection. "Can we stay for lunch?" He asked who he assumed to be Iparu. "Mom said you made great pies, but I wasn't expecting a kid like me!" He paused and starred. "Wait... you don"t age?"

The other laughed, not a child's giggle, but a hearty adult"s chuckle. "You are a curious little boy." He said warmly while transforming. "I am not a child, although some claim I don't age." He winked with a mischievous grin before turning to the mother. "Welcome my dear Primarté. Your son is charming."

"That's not the word I would use." She rolled her eyes.

The now opaque blue creature laughed again. "Come, I was expecting you, although you did take much longer then you should have; the birds announced your presence hours ago. You must be starving."

Mania nodded frantically in agreement.

"So you are Iparu, the great pie-maker?" Mania inquired excitedly. "I can't wait to try your pies!"

"Well, luckily for you, I made an excellent one today."

During lunch, Iparu questioned Primarté while Mania enjoyed some extra servings of the pie. "So what brings you to my humble part of Perim?"

"Our previous home was apparently needed by the annoying Prince Mudeenu. I overheard something about a potion made with ingredients found in the jungle. I do hope they don't destroy the place." Then she smiled. "Oh you should have seen them fall into some of Mania's traps. It was quite comical."

Mania beamed with pride hearing his mom"s compliment.

"How about tomorrow I show you some of my traps?" Iparu nudged him. "And then we will swap ideas." He turned to Primarté. "Today we will settle you in. I'll need to clean up the guest rooms first. I've been using them as storage."


	2. Chapter 2: An Unusual Tradition

Years passed, and Mania, under the guidance of his mother and Iparu, became very good at making pies. He gathered supplies from all over Perim, sometimes traveling to places only known by him. He also developed a powerful arm from throwing pies, that, from Mipedim Oasis, he could snipe an UnderWorlder on its way to Kiru City. The guards of the city were always perplexed when the leader of an UnderWorlder squad would spontaneously fall down and the rest would panic and run away.

Since Mania was bored and Iparu was busy, Mania decided to pull a prank on him. But he had run out of one of his special ingredients. It was time for him to replenish his stock. He hummed, "'Tis the season to make prank pies. Tra la la la la, la la la laaaaaa..."

Primarté, returning from a not-so-local market, stopped him. "Mania, I know you have something mischievous planned with that grin."

"Oh mom..." He scuffled his feet. "It's nothing too bad."

"So where are you heading off to?"

"The spooky, scary, dangerous..." He faked a quivering voice, "UnderWorld."

"Just be careful."

"I will mom. I should be back by tomorrow tonight."

Primarté began storing her produce, but then stopped and thought, "I know there is something I should have told Mania..." She turned around, but he was already gone.

He didn't take the conventional passage to the UnderWorld, because that would attract suspicion. Instead he used a passage he had discovered in an untraveled forest.

Once in the UnderWorld, Mania headed toward The Pits. As he neared the UnderWorld City, many awful sounds spewed out. He pulled out a calendar and read, "Baked Bean Fest – Maybe I shouldn't have come at this time..." But he shrugged and continued anyway. While sneaking through the capitol, he a horrid stench drifted from the UnderWorld Coliseum. According to the calendar, it was the last day of the festival and the day when they hold a contest. Mania was very curious; he had never been to an UnderWorld contest, let alone the infamous Baked Bean Fest event. The guards fixated on the contest posed no threat of him being noticed. He climbed the side of the coliseum and peeked in at the top.

In the middle of the stadium Takinom, Rothar, and Lord van Bloot sat content with 20 empty bowls next to each of them. Mania witnessed Skithia puking after eating her 19th bowl of beans. He noted that most contestants dropped out at around 15 bowls. An observer grumbled, "Each year one of the finalists is always Takinom; she's somehow able to eat more beans than anyone else."

"I think it's fixed," another creature chimed in, "Chaor's eyes always beam with pride every time she wins."

"He had once been great, but age caught up with him; even though he doesn't admit it. He's proud, because Takinom always gave him credit for her training."

"Well anyway, we have a strange twist this year. Bloot came out of no-where at the last minute and signed up. Who knew he could make it to the finals?"

"And Rothar is in this for his 3rd year!" a creature, wearing fake Rothar horns, interrupted.

"Ah go home fanboy, no one cares about him."

"The final round is an all you can eat, so that there will only be one winner!" Chaor's announcement ended the conversation.

Rothar, down to five energy, was the first to finish his bowl but knocked himself out due to recklessness. The fan, who bet on Rothar, tore off the fake horns and threw them out of the stadium. Mania ducked while they soared overhead. Peering over again, he watched in amazement as Takinom and Lord van Bloot gulfed down bowl after bowl of baked beans. Although Bloot was eating at a rapid pace, he was behind by two bowls. Takinom finished her 12th bowl of the round. Bloot fumed and the crowd muttered because he had run out of beans.

"Looks like I win this." Takinom's bragging was contingent on the technicality.

"Hold on, eck eck," van Bloot snickered. "It is all you can eat, and the chef is stirring his large cauldron."

The grumbler from before commented, "Supposedly the chef is cooking up the meanest batch of beans he has made since Chaor competed."

The crowd was going wild in suspense. Even Chaor joined in the chanting. The cheering was almost split in half, but Takinom held the majority. Fights broke out as creatures argued over who would win.

"This might be a revolution," someone joked.

Some changed their bets, and others collected the few that were placed on Rothar. But after the chef began filling up bowls, Lord van Bloot's exclamation grabbed everyone's attention.

"The UnderWorld is mine!"

Chaor jumped to his feet; his fists flaming.

"Heh, heh, hec," cackled Lord van Bloot, "It was my plan, eck eck, to rule the UnderWorld by winning Bake Bean Fest; so I, along with my loyal supporters, entered the contest, eck eck."

"I bet your force became a whole lot smaller," Takinom quipped after downing another bowl.

"I have no need for wimps. I shall win myself!"

"Not as long as I'm defending the UnderWorld."

Bloot grinned. "Bats of a feather flock together." He winked at Takinom.

"What does that mean?" Takinom retorted as she finished her 15th bowl.

"It means if you forfeit the contest, we can rule the UnderWorld together as king and queen."

"More beans, less romance." She gulped down eight more bowls as Bloot twiddled his thumbs embarrassedly.

After getting over the rejection, he threw 13 bowls into the air "Mega Gulp!" His face flushed green, but it was now a tie. Both contestants picked up a bowl and held it, knowing that one more would be too much for them; each hoping the other would forfeit. The crowd was hushed. Bloot couldn't take it; he was already feeling the effect of the beans and at the point of forfeiting. Suddenly, a human, wearing a green shirt with the words "Nick07: Player Mod" in white on the back, stood up on top of Chaor's imperial box and announced, "This contest is spam in general chat: as eating beans does not contribute anything to Chaotic." He jumped down into the stadium with a button labeled "move" in his hand. "I'm moving this to Glacier Plains – I mean Off Topic; where it won't add to your forum post count."

"HOW DARE YOU, PATHETIC HUMAN!?" shouted Chaor. "Glacier Plains is for M'arrillian scum. You will not move MY contest. I am in charge of this city. And I am 'banning' YOU from the UnderWorld." He slammed his fist into the table in front of him and turned into The Fierce. Nick pulled out a giant hammer from his back pocket and threw it at Chaor. On contact it disintegrated. "Bloot, is this another of your schemes?" Chaor charged up a fireball. Shocked, Bloot slowly shook his head.

"Oh no – is this Blargers?" Nick fumed. "I hate how he gets to ignore the rules; but it would explain why he hasn't gotten banned." But then he heard inappropriate language from the crowd. "Is this really the UnderWorld? I'm not daydreaming while checking the forum? No wonder chat isn't censored." His grin reached his ears. "FREEDOM!" Nick charged through the gateway and ran off yelling every word that had been censored. When everyone looked back at the contestants, Bloot's bowl was empty and Takinom was accusing him of cheating. Mania got ready to leave. He didn't care who won – by staying much longer, he could die from the fumes.


	3. Chapter 3: Prison Break

Mania headed out of the city and towards The Pits. Although he recalled that guards in the city had gone to watch the contest, he still was cautious in the UnderWorld's largest prison. While journeying down through the third level, he noticed a prison cell labeled "Despised OverWorlder: Caution." Taking a peek inside, he recognized what was locked within. Mesmerized, he headed to where the key was hanging. In a trance, he unlocked the door slowly. The creature walked out with a slight swagger.

"It's good to be free. Work time already?" He scratched his head as he stared at Mania. "You don't look like an UnderWorld guard... Little bit towards the OverWorld gene pool."

"Father, is that you?" Mania gasped.

"Son?" he laughed in disbelief. "What are you doing here?"

"Come, I'll show you." Mania started walking deeper into The Pits.

The elder monkey pondered whether this was a dream.

"Thank you very much for rescuing me," his father interrupted Mania, "but this isn't the way out."

"We aren't heading out yet."

"Mania, how did you know it was me? You could have gotten killed if I was one of the hostile prisoners."

"Come on dad, how couldn't I have known it was you? The way you curl up your tail when you think, exactly how I do... what were you thinking about?"

"I was thinking what we were going to have for dinner."

"Hmmm…" Mania sighed disappointed.

"Nah, I was running through another escape plan. I never calculated this though..."

"Hey dad you want to hear what happened to Rothar today?"

They chatted for a little while until they reached the deepest level of The Pits – the tenth floor – where green toxins boil up from the ground and the worst UnderWorld prisoners are kept.

The ground rumbled and the air stunk.

"What's going on son, I thought you said that there were no guards!"

"Don't worry dad, it's just a geyser erupting."

"Oh." He had never been this deep in the pits before.

"Perfect, we're here! Let me fill this bag with some of this... some of that... and maybe some of this..." He ran from one place to another – collecting nasty substances.

The ground began rumbling. It cracked open and green fumes flowed down from an overhead passage.

"Fumes don't come down; they go up… This isn't a geyser erupting!"

The nasty guard of the lower pits, Toxis, glared at them from his perch on the ledge.

Toxis jumped down, waddled to a boiling geyser, slurped it up, and gargled the sloshy fluid. Some of it bubbled out from his mouth. Spilling out, it sizzled and eroded the ground.

"Watch out dad; this is the stuff that gives him the bad breath! We're not dealing with ordinary elemental attacks. His fire damage is going to be exponentiated by the gases. Let me handle this. I got my black level battle badge from watching Maxxor himself."

"Isn't that from one of those three week to black belt programs?"

"Rust Toxic!" The fuming guard interrupted with an attack.

Mania rolled out of the way as the ground besides him became rusty. He countered, "Vine Snare!" A vine broke through the rust and wrapped around Toxis' heel.

Toxis used an "Ember Swarm" to burn off the vine. But he didn't notice Mania and his father circling around. "Lavalanch!" they yelled in unison. The attack hit Toxis full force, sending him across the chamber and up into the next floor. With only 5 energy left, and being the reckless type, he fled.

"Let's get out of here dad" Mania gave his father a thumbs up. "I have everything I need."

"Lead the way."

They headed up through the way they came down.

"That was some mighty fine fighting son."

"Thanks dad, the combo was really epic; you've got some skills as well."

"Well I have been practicing; there's not much else to do in a prison..." Mérast had a realization "Wait, Toxis probably went to get help."

As they hurried up the levels Mérast brought up a promise he had made, "Son, I promised another creature that if I ever escaped I would help him also. He's on this level, but we'll have to take a longer way out."

A raging creature roared from behind them. "Who goes there!?"

"Quickly this way – It's around this bend; the third cell to your right."

"There shouldn't be any guards!" Mania chased after his dad.

As the guard rounded the corner behind them, they noticed it was none other than... Rothar.

"Hoa hao ha ho! So we meet again Mérast, my friend." Rothar's blazing hand held his battle ax.

"How is he still moving?" Merast glanced at Mania. "If you're story is true, he should be so bloated that he can't possibly be running."

"He wasn't this energetic an hour ago... I didn't know Rothar was a friend of yours dad?"

"Let's just leave it at acquaintance."

Rothar swung his ax and smashed the ground and yelled, "Ash Torrent! Power Pulse! Trampling Tackle!"

Mania used "Mirthquake" to relocate as the surge of attacks towered before them.

"Good thinking" Mérast grinned. "...son!" His mouth dropped when he noticed where his son's quick thinking had gotten them – UnderWorld Coliseum...

Mania dodged two Ember Swarms as the buzzed by him.

"Son it looks like you need to work on that Mirthquake."

"Yea, I've been so busy making pies recently that my attack training has kind of suffered."

"Eh, ha ha you make pies!" Mérast laughed proudly.

"Ever since mother baked me a banana Dractly Scale pie, I got obsessed with pies."

"Ahhh... a real pie lover... you know that runs in the both sides of your family." Mérast reminisced, "Before you were born, we had a respectable bakery in the Kiru City, until Rothar destroyed it during an UnderWorld invasion."

"Oh that explains why you were so happy about Rothar's fate in the contest..."

"Not the time to talk," Mérast interrupted. Chaor had noticed the foreign newcomers and was yelling for them to be captured.

"I'm out of earth from Mirthquake. It takes time to recharge before I can use it again."

"Good thing I still have earth. Now let me show you how it's done – Mirthquake!"


	4. Chapter 4: A Happy Reunion

Mérast teleported Mania and himself back into The Pits on the 6th level. "We shouldn't have any problems with Rothar this time. He will think we are long gone."

"Nope he's still here dad." Mania pointed at Rothar lying on the floor drooling.

"Recklessness," Mérast sneered and grinned. Suddenly, he put out his arm and stopped Mania. "Quick, into this crevice," he whispered.

"The intruders were in this sector; search them out and bring them back to me – dead or alive!" As the taskmaster finished his orders, guards scattered in different directions. "It's time to bring out Cerbie!" The taskmaster's voice shook the passage. Four guards rushed past the spot where Mania and Mérast were hiding.

Mérast smacked his head. "Of course Rothar wouldn't be the only guard after the alarm sounded..."

After the footsteps had faded off into the far distance, Mérast and Mania quietly creeped out of their hiding place. Continuing to Mérast's goal, they snuck through the maze of passages: sliding around corners and diving into unoccupied cells whenever they heard footsteps.

As they slipped past the guardroom, Mania knocked out the floor's commander with a spray from his vial of Sleeping Pontoos, and Mérast seized the keys. They heard fooststeps in the distance. Mérast quickly dressed up as a commander and used Mania's fake beard. The guards marched past, but one stopped and questioned Mérast, "Tornear? You look a... um... a little different?"

"No, I'm not Tornear!" Mérast replied in the roughest voice he could manage. "He took a leave due to the festivities. Seniority!" He smashed the table – sending a splinter up the guard's nose.

"Hmm he was here this morning..." He began to dislodge the wood chip.

"Stop picking your nose! Or I'll have you in charge of cleaning the toilets!"

"Oh sorry sir, sir!" He saluted and ran off to join his squad.

Mérast ripped off the facial hair. "We have five minutes to get him out based on the last patrol." He tried a few keys, but they weren't the right ones. The previous patrol was coming back. "They must have suspected me. Next time carry a better beard Mania." Looking around quickly, he spotted a hole in the ceiling, grabbed his son, and climbed up the wall into the opening. Dropped the keys in his haste, caused a neighboring occupant to awaken. A deep rumble reverberated through the passage. In a cage labeled dangerous, a vicious creature grabbed the fallen keys with a tail and freed itself. The reinforcements arrived in time to encounter the rampage. He chocked two guards with his twin tails and flung them at another two. The remaining three ran up the passage pursued by the ferocious prisoner.

A minute later, a large group of guards dragged the escapee off to a lower level of The Pits. A few of them remained around his cage to search for the source of the disturbance – hoping to find the intruder.

Mania was eager to get back down, but Mérast prevented him. "More guards will be on their way here after that commotion."

Down the hall, a guard stepped out of the commander's room. "Look, Tornear is here."

"He's out cold." Another proclaimed, "We aren't dealing with an amateur."

The squad leader commented, "They probably heard us coming and opened the dangerous cage to cause a distraction as he escaped. I wonder what they are after."

"I'm glad we're not assigned to a lower level." The guard shuddered. "If he freed one of those..."

"Don't let anyone hear you being so pathetic." The squad leader snapped, "or you'll be assigned to the place where even the fearless lose their minds."

After what felt like ages, the guards moved on to continue their search elsewhere. Mérast dropped down. "Stay up there Mania. It still might not be safe." After a few more attempts with his keys, he finally found one that turned in the lock. He turned the key slowly to produce less noise, but it still creaked. "Narkus we are finally getting out."

A tall and slender creature, with the appearance of a Mipedian, zipped out of the cage. "You must have been the intruder I overheard the guards talking about... How did you manage to escape?"

"My son rescued me. I'll tell you all about it later…" Mérast chuckeld, "over a pie."

"Well, well, well." The taskmaster overseeing Levels 4 through 7 chuckled. "What a happy reunion,". Guards filed in from all directions. "'How did I know you would be here?' You may ask," He paused to consider his already answered question. "Hmmm... Maybe it was that you had 'promised' Narkus to escape together. We keep note of who is friendly with whom. Ha he hu haec." He paused to laugh. "Now, you have two options: A) you come, along with your rescuer, to level 7 and we'll 'forget' this ever happened; B) you die fighting us and eventually are forgotten like everyone else who's come before you. The OverWorld already thinks that you are dead."

Narkus responded instantly, "You forgot option C) I wipe your existence off the face of Perim and get back home." He became a blur as he sped around the room – attacking UnderWorlders with a flurry of techniques. Mérast followed his lead and started blasting everything he could, including a few support beams. Mania just sat back to enjoy the show.

Surrounded by a few dozen conquered guards, Mérast and Narkus were fatigued. With no Mugic to restore their energy, they wouldn't be able to take more fighting. The commander, who had snuck behind a pillar, was laughing, "Ha he hu haec horum he hac hic."

"Ok that laugh is really, really bad." Mérast winced. "Not only is it the worst laugh I've heard aside from Bloot's," He struggled to talk in between each gasp for breath, "it also means that this was a trap."

"They didn't give us much opportunity to keep in shape." Narkus commented.

Mérast responded, "But they sure gave us a workout today." He turned his attention to the source of laughter. "Ok Tardikmus, come out and fight; unless your intimidate courage has been reversed."

Narkus couldn't help but smile.

Tardikmus is bigger than his cousin Dardemus, but not as fat or ugly. According to Chaor, he was one of the more clever taskmasters and one of the most powerful – with the ability to yield a Doomhammer in his right hand and a Burithean Axe in his left. To fit him, the UnderWorlders had to widen the arches in the passages for this section.

"That was quite an entertaining skirmish." He clapped "Luckily for me, this one won't be too exerting on my part." Tardikmus equipped his Doomhammer and swung it around beside him. A flame simmered in his left hand. "Ash Torrent!" He aimed for Mérast.

Mania, who couldn't just watch his father die, jumped down from the ceiling fracture, dived in front of his father and pushed him out of the way. He pointed his palms toward the incoming attack. "Rock Wave!" The torrent was too powerful and broke through the barrier he created. It hit him full force – smashing him into the wall behind him. A heptagonal-shaped object rolled out of Mania's hand. "Use it," he whispered hoarsely. Mérast picked it up.

As the Mugician left Mérast's body and entered the Mugic, a sound played like nothing anyone there had heard. First a sizzling, then hissing, and then popping: a delightful yet horrid smell filled the nostrils of those present. "That's the Sound of Baking Pie!" Mania sprung up with a pie in his hands. A look of surprise formed on Tardikmus's face, and quickly faded into a grin. "Ho ha ha ho, you think you can hurt me with pies. Ha he hu haec horum he hac hic." His laugh rumbled throughout the halls.

The Mugic's effect was coursing through Mania. Mania became surrounded by an arsenal of levitating pies. He consumed one he was holding to heal some energy.

Mania grabbed two pies from those encircling him. "Throwing Pie!" Tardikmus swung his Hammer at the incoming projectile and scored a home-run with the pies. Mania took out a large pie from his backpack. "Taste my pie!" It flew at Tardikmus, who had, through his shock, equipped his Burithean Axe. His swing sliced through the projectile – the blade lodged into the ground. Mania grabbed two more and threw them faster than he had previously. They were coming too fast for Tardikmus to block them. Tardikmus' smirk quickly gave way to a terrified shock as those two pies hit him full force. Because of his lowered speed, the taskmaster wasn't able to dodge.

Mania pounded Tardikmus and the newly arrived guards with a shower of baked treats. Tardikmus crossed his arms and created an earthen barrier. His subordinates, though, were not able to defend. After Mania had defeated the other threats, the flurry of pies stopped. Now Mania could focus on Tardikmus. He flung high-explosive pies to destroy the barrier. Tardikmus hurled his Doomhammer at Mania. Narkus stood in the way and blocked the impact for Mania – the head of the hammer cracked on collision with Narkus' left fist. Mania jumped over Narkus to throw a pie steaming a rainbow of colors. "Yokkis' Surprise!" Despite shielding his face with his left hand, the pie hit him rendering him unconscious. Mania was victorious but fell to the ground, exhausted.


	5. Bonus: Adventures of Nick

This is the story of how Nick started a war in the UnderWorld. Before Mania had left the coliseum, the player moderator, Nick07, had stood up on top of Chaor's imperial box. He jumped down into the stadium. The enraged Chaor the Fierce accused Lord van Bloot of scheming and charged up a fireball. Bloot had emptied his bowl and Takinom was accusing him of cheating and blasted an "Ember Swarm" at him. Skithia tackled Takinom. Rother attempted to get up, but one slap from Bloot knocked him out again. Chaor called on Agitos to organize his soldiers. UnderWorlders began jumping into the arena to assist Chaor. But followers of Lord van Bloot responded likewise. Fights broke out across the stands. Attacks lit up the arena like fireworks light up the sky on Independence Day.

Nick tore off his clothes and streaked around the stadium yelling, "Yipee! No censorship. No censorship!" While dodging attacks, he tripped over Rother's body and fell onto the recently defeated Skithia. She instantly revived and flung him off. "You repulsive man!" she screeched. She searched around for Nauthalax, or some other water user, to purify her.

Ulmar broke through the main archway in a gigantic robot. "He he he he. I've been waiting to try this out!" He began shooting at Lord van Bloot but instead he hit Takinom. Agitos yelled, "Treason!" Now Ulmar was under attack by both sides. "You have over done it this time!" Chaor roared and shot a huge "Magma Might" that disabled the mechanisms of Ulmar's battlegear. "You've damaged it!" Ulmar pouted. He ejected out of the cockpit riding a Windstrider, and flew back to his lab.

The stadium was in an uproar – Bloot had abducted Takinom and was flying away. Krekk picked up the once again defeated Skithia and followed Bloot. Many of the creatures who had sided with Lord van Bloot threw up their hands in surrender, but some fled after Bloot. All of a sudden everyone froze. The air buzzed and the ground vibrated; the sounds of thousands of wings grew near. A large force of Danians hovered above the coliseum.

"What is this?!" Chaor reverted to The Fierce. The ground beneath him became magma.

"The quality of our air has been fouled worse than usual by your obnoxious practices," the leader, Ambolx, reproached. "Our Queen," he saluted, "has been unable to lay eggs because of the sickness your air has given her." Crossing his heart, he mumbled, "May she be cured." Then redirecting his speech at Chaor, "So we have come to avenge her and heal her by purifying the air and removing its polluters!" The flying swarm dived into the festival.

The UnderWorlders who had surrendered rejoined their brethren to fight the common evil. Those who had been chasing the dissenters returned to aid their leader with the more pressing matter. But Lord van Bloot and the others snuck away. Nick recovered his strength, stood up, and bent backwards to crack his back. Then he bent forward to stretch the other way and accidentally tooted. A nearby Danian heard the sound, and in a rage, charged in his direction. She stopped when she saw he wasn't an UnderWorld creature.

"Oh so that is how humans look without clothes." She covered her mouth and blushed.

Ignoring her, Nick continued to crack his joints. She leaned toward him. "How about you come with me?"

"Nah, I have some more fun to do." He ran off towards the exit, but a stray "Aerosion" hit him and sent him flying straight into the arms of his admirer.

"I guess fate has brought you back to me." She winked.

After recovering from his shock, Nick replied, "Let me hop on. Take me to a place more appreciative of my talents."

She tossed him on her back. "Sure thing, wingless grasshopper."

"So... where we going?" he asked.

"Back home to Mount Pillar."

"Eh, I don't like hives." He shuddered at a memory, "I once disturbed a wasp nest –"

"You'll like this one, two legged caterpillar."

"Hey can I meet that Illexia chick?" Nick asked excitedly.

"If you'll preform again," she chuckled. Leaving the tribal fighting, they flew out of the coliseum off to Nick's next adventure.


	6. Chapter 5: The Source of Power

With Mania unconscious, Mérast needed to take the lead. He searched through Mania's backpack. First he discovered a map and set it aside. He grabbed a Song of Reassurance and paid his last Mugician to heal himself with the Mugic. He lifted his son over his shoulders. "Let's see what we have here." He picked up the map. "Well Narkus, there's an X at one of the UnderWorld's pillars. I assume Mania has found some secret passage concealed within it." He looked around at the mess they had created. "I bet these were the only guards in the prison because of the festival. So we shouldn't have any trouble escaping."

When they reached the streets, they witnessed the madness that had formed on the surface. Creatures that were fleeing home battled the Danians chasing. To get to the marked spot on the map, Mérast took the back roads through UnderWorld City. Then he spied someone. It definitely wasn't an UnderWorlder; maybe an OverWorlder, but he looked like a player. He thought he recognized him, but he couldn't quite figure out who he was. Mérast headed in his direction. Then it struck him – it was the moderator Blargers. "What are you doing here? I thought you were an OverWorld player?" Mérast inquired.

"Ahh, Mérast? Good to see you!" Blargers looked astounded. He glanced around paranoid. "If you want to know, follow me." He gestured to follow before scampering into an ally. Mérast decided to pursue.

They arrived in a dark section of the city. At an abandoned warehouse, Blargers kicked a bush and a key-pad surfaced from beside the door. He punched in his password: "blargs". The doors slid back and aside. The room looked like a cross of Ulmar's lab and Lord van Bloot's torture chamber – instruments of cruelty had been scattered around, and vials of strange fuels lined dilapidated shelves. Blargers shoved his hand into one of the contraptions; something clicked, and he pulled his hand out quickly. Gears started spinning, and the floor in the middle of the room opened up. A platform surfaced out of the crevice. Mérast laid Mania on the platform.

The elevator traveled downwards at such a rapid speed they floated above it. When it reached the bottom, its sudden stop caused Mania to face-plant onto the floor. They were so deep underground that the pressure and heat were almost unbearable. If there was a world under the UnderWorld, this had to be in it. In front of them was a long passage. Blargers led them onto a floating platform. As it moved down the passage, they passed by tanks which lined both sides. They were filled with the ex-mods – held in a state of suspended animation. Mérast gasped. After they had passed the tanks, the platform abruptly came to a stop, and Blargers stepped off and stood floating over a dark abyss. "Come, it only appears that I am floating," Blargers said without glancing back at them.

After walking on the invisible path, they came to a giant chamber. Mania had finally come back to his senses. His father placed him on his feet. "He isn't light, you know," he quipped at the grinning Narkus.

This place held a source of energy so great that the Mugicians fled from Narkus' and Mania's bodies.

"Feel the energy, isn't it awesome?" Blargers spread his arms towards the source of energy. "I have a feeling that you already know what this is."

"The Cothica!" the trio of escapees whispered in awe.

Blargers paused, waiting for what they had just experienced to sink in, before telling his story. "As you know, Mérast, I once worked for a company on earth called TCDigital. We were like OverWorlders: caring for peace, knowledge, and fun. They created the card game wanting kids to have fun and while teaching the players what life was like for the Creatures in Perim. But this was not what 4Kids was like; they are more like the UnderWorlders or M'arrillians – thinking about power, wealth, and maybe world domination."

"Since no earthly power rivals the energy of the Cothica, if they could convey its power to earth, they could be unstoppable. They knew that one day some zealous player or moderator would find the ultimate power source and they were right – we stumbled upon the Cothica. When I was trying to fix some problems, I noticed a pattern in the glitches. They all led to a great source of disturbance. At first I thought it might be a hacker trying to crack the Codex. But I finally found out the source was coming from Perim. I had been here before," Blargers sighed, "because of some 'interesting predicaments' which have been recorded by a player named etheto. I needed to fix the interference, or it could mess up the card uploading process. I thought, 'Occasis always has some insane ideas; maybe he can help me get back to Perim.'"

"On my way to his house, I was ambushed by a player under the control of the M'arrillians. I was grateful that Occasis taught me 'Russian Garbage Can Defense Maneuvers.' He quickly got 'coded.' My stalker didn't know what hit him – and I didn't know what was in that can," Blargers chuckled. "In his pocket, he had a fascinating piece of tech, along with a scanner. I took them and threw him into a nearby dumpster. Assuming that my discovery had leaked out, I was more careful heading to Occasis' house than when I was wanted by the police." He continued quickly hoping his listeners hadn't noticed him mentioning that incident,* "Once there, Occasis led me into his bedroom, flipped on the light switch, and turned on the computer. He calibrated the Scanner's GPS, hoping to track the source of the disturbance. After a couple of hours modifying the Scanner's owner and infusing the accompanying technology, he unplugged the Scanner from his computer. While handing it to me, he explained why I received the privilege of using it instead of him, 'I'm not able to go to tonight, since I have a date. Good luck!' The last thing I saw was Occasis pressing enter on his keyboard before I was pulled into Perim."


End file.
